History Crash Course #14: Joshua and Conquest of the Promised Land

This is no typical war of conquest.

And it was after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, "Moses my servant has died and now arise and cross the River Jordan. You and all this nation go to the land which I give the Children of Israel. Every place on which the soles of your feet will tread I have given to you, as I have spoken to Moses. No man shall stand up before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so shall I be with you. I will not weaken my grasp on you nor will I abandon you. Just be strong and very courageous to observe and do in accordance with all the Torah that Moses my servant has commanded you. Therefore, do not stray right or left in order that you will succeed in wherever you go."

Joshua is one of the great leaders of Jewish history. The Talmud says: "The face of Moses was like the face of the Sun, while the face of Joshua was like the face of the moon."1 This is understood to mean that the greatness of Joshua was reflection of his teacher, Moses, which is a tremendous compliment. But it also tells us that just as the sun is much greater than the moon, which only reflects sunlight, so too, had Moses lived to enter the Land, all of Jewish history and all of human history would have been different.

After the death of Moses Joshua leads the Jewish people for 28 years.2 The Book of Joshua describes the seven years of conquest and seven years of settlement of the Land of Israel. After the land is conquered is divided into separate tribal portions via a divinely guided lottery. The Book of Joshua also describes the Biblical boundaries of the Land Of Israel.

At this time the so-called Promised Land is bounded by the Egyptian empire to the south and the Mesopotamia to the north. But it is not ruled by either of them. In fact, there is no one power ruling this section of land, rather it is settled by seven Canaanite tribes who inhabit 31 fortified city-states scattered all over the map, each ruled by its own "king."

(Jericho is one of these city-states, so is Ai, so is Jerusalem, where Canaanite tribesmen called Jebusites dwell.)

Before they enter the land, the Jewish people send an envoy to the Canaanites with the message, "God, the Creator of the Universe has promised this land to our forefathers. We are now here to claim our inheritance, and we ask you to leave peacefully."

Needless to say most of the Canaanites don't. (Only one tribe takes the offer and leaves.)

Meanwhile, Joshua has clear instructions from God that if the Canaanites don't get out, the Jews must wipe them out, because if they remain in the land they are going to corrupt the Jews. It is made clear that the Canaanites are extremely immoral and idolatrous people and the Jews cannot live with them as neighbors.

This is like saying today that living in a bad neighborhood messes up your kids. You have to always be careful about outside influences.

So what happens?

THE BATTLE OF JERICHO

The people go into the land and they fight a series of battles. The first is the battle of Jericho, the entrance to the heartland of Canaan.

Some archeologists have suggested that the easy conquest of this heavily-fortified city was made possible by a well-timed earthquake. But isn't it remarkable that precisely when the Jewish people need the city to fall, there is an earthquake and it does? No matter how you explain it, it is still miraculous.

The waters of the Jordan miraculously stop flowing and they cross on dry land, then the Jordan refills with water. Next they march around the city walls, which crumble before their eyes. They conquer the city, taking no booty as commanded by God.

It must be clear by now that this is not the typical war of conquest such as we read about in human history of bloody warfare, of raping and pillaging. God has said, "Nothing like that here. And if you follow My instructions all will go well."

ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE

The Jews move on to the next city-state, a place called Ai.

But here things don't go so smoothly. In fact, they meet with a terrible defeat with many of their number killed. Traumatized by the experience, they plead to know why God had abandoned them and quickly learn the terrible truth -- that one person, Achan, had stolen some items back in Jericho.

One person out of 3 million didn't listen to God and everyone suffers!

One person out of 3 million didn't listen to God and everyone suffers!

The fascinating thing here is that the Bible seems to be saying that obedience to God's commands is paramount and that as far as the Jews are concerned -- it is all for one and one for all.

As an outgrowth of that lesson, Judaism teaches that there is such a thing as collective responsibility as well as individual responsibility -- no person is an island, each exists as part of the whole and is responsible for the actions of others as well as his or her own. Just as in the story of the Golden Calf, every Jew is the guarantor for his fellow Jew.

In today's world, the motto seems to be "Mind your own business," or "It's not my problem." If we operated on the same level as they did back then, most of the world's problems would disappear.

LIFE IN THE LAND

Despite many difficulties on the way, the Israelites do finally lay claim to the Promised Land but their life there is far from calm, particularly after Joshua dies. The Bible relates that they had only themselves to blame:

And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers ... and he gave them over into the hands of their enemies." (Judges 2:8-14)

From a simple reading of the text, one might assume that the entire Jewish people abandoned the Torah and started worshipping idols. But this, in fact, was not true. As with the incident of the golden calf only a small percentage of the people sinned, yet the entire nation is held accountable.

As mentioned previously, the highly self-critical nature of this passage is typical of others which make the Hebrew Bible a unique document -- a holy book of a people, but also relating the sinful history of this people. The exaggerated focus on the mistakes-the self-criticism within the text- gives extra emphasis to the lessons that the Jewish people must learn from their mistakes.

There is no question that the criticism of the Jews in the Bible is hyper-criticism, but there are two reasons why the slightest offense by a small group of people is condemned so strongly:

As noted above, every Jew is responsible for every other Jew, and what one does reflects on all.

It's such an obvious point in the moral history of the world that as soon as you tolerate something, it becomes bearable, and before long it will become common.

Therefore, here God is driving home an important point to the Jews: You're on a very high spiritual level. If you tolerate even small indiscretions by a few, eventually these few are going to pollute the nation.

Indeed, this is eventually what does happen, but before it does, the Jews enjoy a honeymoon period in the land known as the Time of Judges.

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About the Author

Rabbi Ken Spiro, originally from New Rochelle, NY, graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and did graduate studies at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He has rabbinic ordination from Aish Jerusalem and a Masters Degree in History from Vermont College of Norwich University. Rabbi Spiro is also a licensed tour guide by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs such as BBC, National Geographic Channel and The History Channel. He lives near Jerusalem with his wife and five children, where he works as a senior lecturer for Aish Jerusalem.

In one volume, Crash Course in Jewish History explores the 4,000 years of Jewish existence while answering the great questions: Why have the Jewish people been so unique, so impactful, yet so hated and so relentlessly persecuted?

Crash Course in Jewish History is not only comprehensive and readable, it is also entertaining and enlightening. Novices and scholars alike will find Crash Course in Jewish History to be thought-provoking and insightful, as well as a valuable and relevant guide to understanding the challenges we all face in the 21st century.

Visitor Comments: 10

I am always moved when I return and read from AISH. It is a wonderful history of the Jewish people and a tool for us all to measure our own lives with. God save Isreal and God Bless America.

(8)
Grace,
July 3, 2007 9:44 PM

Lessons

Many important lessons can be learned from this accounting. Not only did the offending soldier fail to listen, he caused others to suffer because of his greed. "To the victor go the spoils", is not so. This is not only a lesson on obedience, it is a lesson about ethics.Thank you

(7)
Stephanie Watters,
March 1, 2007 10:35 AM

Very convicting!

That was a good lesson on the conquest of Canaan. It makes me want to be more responsible for my fellow man. Actually, I had wondered why G-d often punished so many for the sin of one. This was a real eye-opener.

Thanks!

(6)
Anonymous,
February 28, 2007 1:35 PM

read your history, need to know more on present day jew.

(5)
Menashe Kaltmann,
February 26, 2007 11:58 PM

Great Article

Yasher Koach Rabbi Spiro and aish.com

It illustrates how Jewish History can only be really understood by remembering G-d influences directly the world and what happens in it; G-d influences what the leaders of the world are to decide.

In the Siddur there is a phrase "Ha'mumlich Melachim Ve'Lo U'Melucha" Who crowns kings yet His (G-d is the Kingdom.)

(4)
Sarah,
February 25, 2007 9:42 AM

Required reading

This should be a required reading for anyone going into governmental leadership. It seems imperative.

(3)
JeffreyA.Pomykala,
December 20, 2006 7:03 PM

Mechanical resonance...

Rabbi Spiro - your writings are awesome and Aish.com is truly a blessing. As for the topics in this article in the series, the aspects that most hit me were two things I've always found intrigueing when reading of these events in scripture.

1) The fact that just ONE person disobeyed (in taking some "booty" after the taking of Ai) and ALL of the people suffered due to it....That should give each and every one of us some humble pause in our deeds, actions and words while living this life. Our individual actions....can have repercussions on our families, friends, neighbors - our country...our planet.

2) The battle of Jericho! ~ for whatever reason, it's an event that has resonated with me my whole life. I've just always found the account of that siege/battle to be neat - even as a very young child. When I got older and had read about Tesla's "mechanical resonance", well - that just confirmed my belief in G-d and scripture. Come on! G-d had them march around Jericho (how many were there?) for hours and hours and days on end, pausing every now and again to blow horns (how many hundreds, if not thousands?) and scream at the top of their (all the millions of) lungs.

It's common in the military for large formations to NOT walk in lock-step while crossing a long bridge. That "mechanical resonance" thing... Here in the account of Jericho, we have the millions that left Egypt, marching around Jericho for days, blowing tumpets and creating tons of pressure waves - a "mechanical resonance", as directed by G-d, the truly all-knowing. And hey, so once that resonance weakened the walls, some minor tremor in the earth (possibly due to the mechanical resonance of those millions of marching feet affecting a nearby fault) brought down those "solid stone" walls.

I just got married and have an important question: Can we eat rice on Passover? My wife grew up eating it, and I did not. Is this just a matter of family tradition?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Torah instructs a Jew not to eat (or even possess) chametz all seven days of Passover (Exodus 13:3). "Chametz" is defined as any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye) that came into contact with water for more than 18 minutes. Chametz is a serious Torah prohibition, and for that reason we take extra protective measures on Passover to prevent any mistakes.

Hence the category of food called "kitniyot" (sometimes referred to generically as "legumes"). This includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Even though kitniyot cannot technically become chametz, Ashkenazi Jews do not eat them on Passover. Why?

Products of kitniyot often appear like chametz products. For example, it can be hard to distinguish between rice flour (kitniyot) and wheat flour (chametz). Also, chametz grains may become inadvertently mixed together with kitniyot. Therefore, to prevent confusion, all kitniyot were prohibited.

In Jewish law, there is one important distinction between chametz and kitniyot. During Passover, it is forbidden to even have chametz in one's possession (hence the custom of "selling chametz"). Whereas it is permitted to own kitniyot during Passover and even to use it - not for eating - but for things like baby powder which contains cornstarch. Similarly, someone who is sick is allowed to take medicine containing kitniyot.

What about derivatives of kitniyot - e.g. corn oil, peanut oil, etc? This is a difference of opinion. Many will use kitniyot-based oils on Passover, while others are strict and only use olive or walnut oil.

Finally, there is one product called "quinoa" (pronounced "ken-wah" or "kin-o-ah") that is permitted on Passover even for Ashkenazim. Although it resembles a grain, it is technically a grass, and was never included in the prohibition against kitniyot. It is prepared like rice and has a very high protein content. (It's excellent in "cholent" stew!) In the United States and elsewhere, mainstream kosher supervision agencies certify it "Kosher for Passover" -- look for the label.

Interestingly, the Sefardi Jewish community does not have a prohibition against kitniyot. This creates the strange situation, for example, where one family could be eating rice on Passover - when their neighbors will not. So am I going to guess here that you are Ashkenazi and your wife is Sefardi. Am I right?

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (1194-1270), known as Nachmanides, and by the acronym of his name, Ramban. Born in Spain, he was a physician by trade, but was best-known for authoring brilliant commentaries on the Bible, Talmud, and philosophy. In 1263, King James of Spain authorized a disputation (religious debate) between Nachmanides and a Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani. Nachmanides reluctantly agreed to take part, only after being assured by the king that he would have full freedom of expression. Nachmanides won the debate, which earned the king's respect and a prize of 300 gold coins. But this incensed the Church: Nachmanides was charged with blasphemy and he was forced to flee Spain. So at age 72, Nachmanides moved to Jerusalem. He was struck by the desolation in the Holy City -- there were so few Jews that he could not even find a minyan to pray. Nachmanides immediately set about rebuilding the Jewish community. The Ramban Synagogue stands today in Jerusalem's Old City, a living testimony to his efforts.

It's easy to be intimidated by mean people. See through their mask. Underneath is an insecure and unhappy person. They are alienated from others because they are alienated from themselves.

Have compassion for them. Not pity, not condemning, not fear, but compassion. Feel for their suffering. Identify with their core humanity. You might be able to influence them for the good. You might not. Either way your compassion frees you from their destructiveness. And if you would like to help them change, compassion gives you a chance to succeed.

It is the nature of a person to be influenced by his fellows and comrades (Rambam, Hil. De'os 6:1).

We can never escape the influence of our environment. Our life-style impacts upon us and, as if by osmosis, penetrates our skin and becomes part of us.

Our environment today is thoroughly computerized. Computer intelligence is no longer a science-fiction fantasy, but an everyday occurrence. Some computers can even carry out complete interviews. The computer asks questions, receives answers, interprets these answers, and uses its newly acquired information to ask new questions.

Still, while computers may be able to think, they cannot feel. The uniqueness of human beings is therefore no longer in their intellect, but in their emotions.

We must be extremely careful not to allow ourselves to become human computers that are devoid of feelings. Our culture is in danger of losing this essential aspect of humanity, remaining only with intellect. Because we communicate so much with unfeeling computers, we are in danger of becoming disconnected from our own feelings and oblivious to the feelings of others.

As we check in at our jobs, and the computer on our desk greets us with, "Good morning, Mr. Smith. Today is Wednesday, and here is the agenda for today," let us remember that this machine may indeed be brilliant, but it cannot laugh or cry. It cannot be happy if we succeed, or sad if we fail.

Today I shall...

try to remain a human being in every way - by keeping in touch with my own feelings and being sensitive to the feelings of others.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...